LS Electric, Microsoft to jointly develop smart factory

LS Electric Co., South Korean manufacturer of power and industrial automation equipment, has signed a partnership agreement with Microsoft to develop intelligent and autonomous factory solutions.

LS Electric announced on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with MS for joint development and technology verification of new smart factory and energy-based businesses at the MS Exhibition Hall in Hannover Messe 2023, Germany. Hannover Messe 2023 is the world's largest industrial technology trade show.

Both companies will focus on improving data connectivity in intelligent factories, generating data insights for production facilities, and conducting power efficiency analysis in production lines.

LS Electric and MS will also explore the use of Azure Synapse Analytics and Azure Machine Learning services for advanced manufacturing environments and the development of new business models based on smart energy and power data. The collaboration will extend beyond smart factories to encompass digital transformation (DX) businesses.

Last year, LS Electric worked with Microsoft to enhance inspection and noise analysis in the production line of the Cheongju plant, which was recognized as a "lighthouse factory" by the World Economic Forum. The partnership resulted in reduced defect rates and increased productivity through the use of deep learning technology on the Azure platform.

Through this latest partnership, LS Electric aims to create an intelligent factory that analyzes equipment data and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to solve production process problems. The company also plans to develop an autonomous factory solution that diagnoses all aspects of production and makes optimal decisions in logistics networks, production plans and purchases.

"We plan to secure the capability to continuously upgrade smart factory solutions that are globally competitive through our partnership with Microsoft," said Cho Wook-Dong, managing director of LS Electric.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com